Environmental crimes don’t stop at borders. Neither can the reporting

High gold prices have driven illegal mining activities throughout the Amazon rainforest. As Brazil implemented stricter regulations on the trade, criminal organizations devised an alternative route through Venezuela. Once laundered, the illicit minerals could be exported to other countries, according to a Mongabay investigation published last year.

To uncover this trade, journalists from three nations collaborated—recognizing that environmental crimes seldom adhere to national boundaries. In the vicinity of the Mavicure Hills, Quintero engaged with the residents of the El Venado Indigenous Reserve. As the investigations editor at Mongabay Latam, Quintero based in Bogotá, creates projects that merge on-the-ground reporting with official documents, satellite imagery, scientific publications, and legal records.

She also oversees Mongabay’s Nature Crimes Fellowship, collaborating with journalists from Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru on investigations within the Amazon and the Pacific regions. Quintero previously covered environmental matters and held a position in the investigative department at El Espectador prior to joining Mongabay in early 2025.

Her investigative work has spanned a range of topics, including glass-eel fisheries in the Dominican Republic and the gold smuggling affair. Prior to Mongabay Latam’s PUMA FEST in July, I accompanied Quintero to Colombia’s Guainía department, where I had the opportunity to interview her about her career and her entry into environmental journalism.